⚡️EVEN THE U.S. IS ADMITTING IT! UKRAINE EMERGES AS A GLOBAL MILITARY POWER! RUSSIA TORN TO PIECES!

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]Shocking facts from the front line. This is a disastrous failure of the Russian army. Ukraine's armed forces are the most powerful military in the world.

[00:00:09]Even the United States is now admitting it. Russia's rear is up in flames. A massive fire at an oil refinery can be seen from [music] space. Russians are finally feeling the full consequences of the so-called special military operation. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to rapidly arm itself. A new international alliance is about to deliver huge amounts of critical weapons. Partners have formed a wall of support around Ukraine. The meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping dealt a devastating blow to Putin. The dictator [music] is panicking. The Kremlin leader's best friends are turning away and uniting against him.

[00:00:44]Events are escalating at breakneck [music] speed. Let's break down what's happening right now. Hello, this is Ukraine today. Maria Varfolomeeva here with the latest updates.

[00:00:56]The era of Russian victories in Ukraine is collapsing right before the Kremlin's eyes. Even CNN admits it now. Ukraine's armed forces are liberating more territory than Russia can seize.

[00:01:07]According to the Institute for the Study of War, for the first time in a long time, Ukrainian troops reclaimed more land in April than Putin's army managed to capture. The much-hyped unstoppable offensive is starting to look more like a rusty tractor stuck in the mud. One of the biggest reasons behind this battlefield reversal is Ukraine's growing drone dominance. Ukrainian UAVs are turning Russian warehouses, command posts, and military logistics into flaming landmarks visible from orbit.

[00:01:34]While Kremlin propagandists still draw arrows on TV maps, Ukrainian drones are busy erasing those arrows in real life.

[00:01:42]We managed to turn the tide.

[00:01:45]Ukraine's success is impossible to ignore. Even allies are saying it openly now. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Ukraine's armed forces are currently the strongest and most battle-hardened army in Europe. A brutal reality check for Moscow, which spent years insisting it could take Kyiv in 3 days. Well, there's no doubt that the necessity of fighting this war has caused the Ukrainians uh to develop new tactics, new techniques, new equipment, new technology that is creating a sort of hybrid asymmetrical warfare. That's impressive, no doubt about it. I mean, if you look at the the Russians are losing five times as many soldiers a month as the Ukrainians are. And the Ukraine is a smaller country and a smaller army for that matter. Although, the Ukrainian armed forces are the strongest, most powerful armed forces in all of Europe. Just to be clear, right now. Obviously, because a lot of the assistance they've gotten, but also because of the battlefield experience that they've gained.

[00:02:42]Russia had another sleepless night, and Ryazan was glowing like a giant warning beacon. Drones slammed into one of Russia's largest oil refineries, triggering a massive fire.

[00:03:09]Explosions erupted around 2:00 a.m.

[00:03:12]Local residents complained about a swarm of drones, deafening blasts, and bright flashes lighting up the sky before an enormous inferno erupted. For many Russians, it was probably the first time the phrase "special military operation" arrived directly outside their windows.

[00:03:26]Telegram channels report that the strike hit the Ryazan oil refinery, part of Rosneft. It is one of Russia's largest refining facilities, processing around 17 million tons of oil annually. The plant produces gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, fuel oil, liquefied gases, bitumen, and petrochemical feed stock. In short, one more critical artery of Russia's war economy suddenly found itself coughing smoke into the night sky. Ryazan authorities have already officially confirmed the attack.

[00:03:54]Regional Governor Pavel Malkov stated the drone debris fell into the territory of an industrial facility. Classic Kremlin crisis management, if an entire refinery is burning, just call it debris. Krasnodar Krai didn't sleep either. Residents of Yeysk also reported explosions and fires. According to Astra's analysis, the target was an airfield.

[00:04:13]>> The airfield is home to the 859th Center for Combat Employment and retraining of naval aviation pilots of the Russian Navy.

[00:04:21]It houses the unique NITKA ground-based test training complex, an aircraft carrier deck simulating aviation system, which is used for takeoff and landing training for carrier-based aircraft.

[00:04:36]Ukraine is launching a new defense procurement coalition called Corpus, and this could become a nightmare for the Kremlin's long-term war plans. On April 30th in Kyiv, a memorandum was signed establishing a coalition for resilient procurement and unified support.

[00:04:51]Alongside Ukraine, the founding members include Finland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Italy. Corpus is designed as a network of coordinated defense procurement agencies, rather than one giant bureaucracy. The idea is simple: less duplication, faster coordination, and fewer delays, while Russia still relies on Soviet-era warehouses and wishful thinking. Cooperation inside the coalition will happen at the operational level through shared experience with suppliers, digital systems, compliance standards, anti-corruption mechanisms, and logistics management. In reality, this means Europe is quietly building a permanent military coordination pipeline around Ukraine's battlefield experience.

[00:05:28]If the coordination mechanisms function as planned, Ukraine could receive faster and more predictable access to weapons from coalition members. Instead of chaotic one-time political bargains, arms deliveries may increasingly work through permanent synchronized procurement structures. Even more importantly, Ukraine may gain influence over what weapons European countries actually produce. After all, modern warfare is being tested on Ukraine's battlefield in real time. European manufacturers will have to adapt not to all theories, but to the brutal lessons Russia keeps providing for free.

[00:06:03]The party Putin wasn't invited to, the summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping could seriously weaken Russia's global position. According to the conversation, the meeting showed Washington and Beijing are at least trying to stabilize relations after confrontation. A terrifying scenario for the Kremlin, which loves when global powers are too busy fighting each other to notice Moscow setting things on fire.

[00:06:25]During the summit opening, Xi stated that China and the US must be partners, not rivals, while warning about the risks of escalation around Taiwan.

[00:06:33]Beijing also signaled greater openness to American business interests, potentially reducing the risk of a new trade war. Analysts say improving US-China relations weakens the Kremlin's leverage. Putin desperately tries to preserve Russia's image as a great power, either by making Moscow strategically useful or by acting like the geopolitical equivalent of a guy smashing furniture at a party, so everyone is forced to pay attention to him. The report also highlights the April 29th phone call between Trump and Putin. According to the authors, Putin proposed moving highly enriched Iranian uranium to Russia, but Trump reportedly rejected the idea and urged him to focus on ending the war in Ukraine. Even relations between Moscow and Beijing now appear shakier. Xi and Putin last met in person in September 2025, and since then only held one video conference. Looks like the internal friendship may have expired faster than Russian military equipment on the frontline.

[00:07:29]Russia's economy has already surpassed Europe's. That's the fairy tale the Kremlin keeps feeding its population.

[00:07:35]Reality looks very different. Analysts warn that Russia is sinking deeper into a systemic crisis, and a new mass mobilization wave could shatter what remains of the country's economy. More details in the report. The Russian government has sharply downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2026 from 1.3% to less than half a percent. At the same time, the inflation forecast was raised from 4% to 5.2% according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

[00:08:01]To stimulate the economy at the end of April, the Central Bank decided to lower the key interest rate.

[00:08:06]On the one hand, this should make loans cheaper, but on the other hand, it increases the risk of rapid price growth as the government acknowledged. We have decided to lower the key interest rate to 14 and 1/2% per annum.

[00:08:19]Economic activity is slowing down.

[00:08:22]The pace of demand is now roughly in line with the capacity to expand supply.

[00:08:27]However, inflation still remains above the target. In addition, pro-inflationary risks have increased significantly.

[00:08:33]However, the Kremlin continues to stubbornly ignore the obvious facts.

[00:08:37]At least publicly, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, stated that Russia is supposedly outpacing the world's leading economies in terms of economic growth rates. Since 2017, we have significantly narrowed the gap.

[00:08:50]That is, if in 2017, our per capita GDP was 43% of the American level, then by the end of 2025, it will already be almost 56%.

[00:09:02]At the same time, we, so to speak, were narrowing the gap, while, for example, many of our European neighbors, as a rule, were widening the gap. In other words, they were falling behind economically. This means that we were not only growing in line with others, but were even outpacing growth, including that of the American economy.

[00:09:20]But, it seems that Russians don't really believe these statements. According to the Institute for the Study of War, there has been an unprecedented increase in demand for cash in the Federation. In just the first week of May, the volume of cash in circulation increased by 210 billion rubles at once, which became an absolute record since statistics began in 2011.

[00:09:39]Experts link this to frequent internet outages, which lead to problems with cashless payments in stores.

[00:09:45]However, they also see another important trend in all of these.

[00:09:49]Most likely, the processes that are happening now do not have just a single cause related to the internet.

[00:09:57]They are connected first of all to the fact that people are trying in some way to protect their own savings in life so that they don't end up with nothing at all.

[00:10:06]So, in this situation, most likely, these processes that are occurring, and by the way, it's important to understand that they will continue to grow.

[00:10:15]Compared to 2025, the demand for cash in Russia has increased almost fivefold.

[00:10:20]According to experts, this is yet another significant symptom of growing internal instability in the Russian Federation.

[00:10:25]It is absolutely realistic that lines could form at banks, at bank branches.

[00:10:30]At the same time, I want to remind you that no matter how high the interest rate ceiling is, the Russian banking system still provides loans to the economy.

[00:10:40]Now, imagine a situation where there is a mass withdrawal of money by depositors, while loans are not being repaid.

[00:10:47]What happens to the bank? The bank declares bankruptcy.

[00:10:51]The deficit of the Russian budget in just the first quarter of 2026 exceeded the expected annual forecast by one and a half times. Ukrainian intelligence predicts a significant deterioration in Russia's economic indicators in the event of another likely wave of mobilization.

[00:11:04]If the Kremlin decides to continue the war against Ukraine for another one or two years, it will need to send up to 300,000 more people to the front.

[00:11:12]It is also important to highlight Russia's financial difficulties.

[00:11:16]The budget deficit of the Russian Federation has already exceeded the planned figures by several times, and providing for hundreds of thousands of mobilized soldiers will require unaffordable expenses.

[00:11:28]The mass withdrawal of workers from the economy amid a labor shortage will only worsen the situation in Russia. After all, modern warfare depends not so much on the number of soldiers as on the level of technical equipment, communication systems, and electronic warfare capabilities. From a publication on the website of the foreign intelligence service of Ukraine.

[00:11:48]Analysts warn a new wave of mobilization could lead to a mass exodus of Russians abroad. And while after the mobilization in 2022, some emigrants returned home, this time highly qualified specialists may leave the country for good, which will also affect economic indicators.

[00:12:04]Natalia Gusak for Freedom TV Channel.

[00:12:10]Switzerland has officially announced its accession to the expanded agreement of the special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. Already 35 countries have confirmed readiness to join the agreement. The next major step toward launching the tribunal is expected in Chisinau at the Council of Europe meeting. All about it next. Tomorrow, on May 15th, delegations from European countries will arrive here at the Palace of the Republic. The 135th ministerial session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will take place here. On the agenda are the fight against disinformation, foreign interference, support for Ukraine, and strengthening security.

[00:12:47]This meeting could very well become historic. The fact is that the Council of Europe plans to finally approve the agreement on the legal establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. We will hold accountable those responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. I urge all states, both in Europe and in other regions, to join this historic initiative. This is about principles.

[00:13:09]Andriy Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, on social network X.

[00:13:14]The very fact of creating such a tribunal is already being called a historic precedent. Nothing like this has happened since the Nuremberg trials after World War II. The point is that investigating the crime of Moscow's aggression within the framework of the International Criminal Court is impossible, since the country is not a party to the Rome statute.

[00:13:31]Theoretically, the UN Security Council could make such a decision, but Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and has the right of veto.

[00:13:38]Therefore, Ukraine, together with its partners, chose a different path to create a separate special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

[00:13:45]This tribunal must hold accountable the authorities, the military and political leadership, primarily of Russia and other accomplices to the crime of aggression in allied regimes, Belarus, Iran and North Korea. Those individuals who prepared, planned, initiated and are conducting the aggression against Ukraine, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. They will never be forgiven for this.

[00:14:08]The legal documentation of this crime and the punishment of specific perpetrators, not just the abstract entity of the country of Russia, is extremely important. Without this, there will be no justice in Europe. Heorhiy Tokkyy, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in a comment to United 24 media.

[00:14:27]If the vote at the current ministerial session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is successful, the stage of political and legal coordination for launching this judicial mechanism will essentially be completed.

[00:14:37]After the relevant documents are signed, the practical deployment of the tribunal's infrastructure in The Hague will begin and by the end of 2026, they plan to establish a governing committee that will be responsible for selecting judges and prosecutors.

[00:14:50]Nikita Skoblikov, Victor Golovko, Denis Antonenko for Freedom TV channel.

[00:14:59]On the sidelines of the Bucharest 9 Summit, Ukraine and Lithuania signed a drone deal agreement on the fancy industry and military expertise cooperation. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated that Lithuania will work with Ukraine to strengthen defense capabilities, exchange technologies, expertise and innovations, especially in air defense. Participants at the summit also discussed NATO's eastern flank security and continued support for Ukraine. More details in the report. Russia's war against Ukraine is a direct challenge to the entire Euro-Atlantic order, declared the president of Poland during the opening of the Bucharest 9 Summit. He co-chaired the summit in the Romanian capital together with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. The Bucharest 9 is a format for cooperation among the countries of NATO's eastern flank, which was established in 2015. The group includes Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The meeting on May 13th was attended by the head of the alliance, Mark Rutte, and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The key topic of the summit is the future of the North Atlantic Alliance and strengthening the security of its eastern flank in light of the growing threat from Russia.

[00:16:11]There should be no doubt about who started this brutal war. We must also fully recognize the role of Belarus, which continues to support Russia's military efforts and allows hostile hybrid actions to be carried out from its territory against NATO allies and partners.

[00:16:26]Europe must ensure that Russia can never again issue ultimatums to it, stated the president of Ukraine. And to achieve this, we need to strengthen our defense capabilities. Kyiv is ready to offer its military expertise, combat experience, innovations, and cooperation in the development and joint production of weapons to its partners with a primary focus on drones.

[00:16:47]I propose a drone deal for the European Union. We discussed this with Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa.

[00:16:54]But of course, this needs to be developed both at the level of European institutions and undoubtedly at the level of individual countries. It should be a multi-level system. I am convinced that we all need bilateral drone deal agreements that will help integrate every element of national defense so that we can respond to modern threats by using Europe's manufacturing capabilities and Ukrainian expertise proven through real defense in a real war.

[00:17:19]The leadership and diplomatic efforts of Washington to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine remain of paramount importance, according to the NATO Secretary General. The task of the allies is to support Ukraine, which is not only holding the line, but also successfully pushing the enemy back at the front.

[00:17:35]The American president held a meeting with Putin last year. I believe it was extremely important to begin engaging with Russia. This is the way out of this conflict. In the meantime, we must ensure that Ukraine has everything it needs to continue fighting with maximum strength. This includes vital support from the United States, which continues to flow to Ukraine and is paid for by European allies, as well as all the other support provided by Europeans and the US. When peace finally comes, when a deal can be made, Putin will have to make concessions.

[00:18:07]The recent statements by the Russian dictator about the alleged imminent end of the war against Ukraine are met with skepticism by European leaders. Everyone can see how Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities and wage a hybrid war against Europe, noted Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

[00:18:23]All Russian military strategies show no desire for peace on the European continent, and we are responding to this both through bilateral cooperation and within NATO or the European Union. I could also add the hybrid war that each of us is experiencing.

[00:18:39]We see that this continues, and we do not observe any signs of a desire for peace. Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania, from his speech at the Bucharest 9 Summit.

[00:18:48]European Union countries are in a deep phase of hybrid war with the Russian Federation, and in such a situation, it is necessary to act proactively, experts believe.

[00:18:58]This collaboration includes strategic joint ventures and extensive active work on the development and implementation of advanced security systems, such as sophisticated anti-drone systems. So, in this specific field, Ukraine has developed its own significant expertise and deep technical knowledge, which can be quite useful and highly valuable for international partners. Therefore, overall, this is an important event, so to speak.

[00:19:23]And we see that those countries, yes, particularly those that are part of the Bucharest nine, the countries of the north, northern Europe, are very active in this area.

[00:19:34]And we see the same with Norway, for example, which is currently not present at this summit, but overall, this actually demonstrates the right approach, yes, when it comes to supporting Ukraine and building an industrial base to foster this very strategic autonomy for the European Union, which we we talk about so much. In their joint statement, the participants of the Big Nine Summit emphasized that supporting Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration and defense capability is an investment in their own security. Experts note that for the countries on NATO's eastern flank, relations with Kyiv have long since gone beyond mere political solidarity. Europe is building a new system of collective security where Ukraine's combat experience, joint arms production, and technological development are becoming part of a shared defense architecture.

[00:20:21]Karina Loloian for Freedom TV channel.

[00:20:28]What do you think about the latest events? Share your opinion in the comments, like the video, and subscribe to stay informed about the main headlines. See you soon.